


Guys Like Me

by may10baby



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Crush at First Sight, Fluff and Angst, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Keith and Shiro are Siblings, Love Confessions, M/M, Much Better Food on Hunk's end, POV Hunk (Voltron), Pining, Pining Hunk (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Self Confidence Issues, Terrible Food on Keith's Part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 05:18:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12101574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/may10baby/pseuds/may10baby
Summary: The Tupperware was empty, and Keith looked like he was contemplating licking the inside of the container. Instead Keith gnawed at his spoon, looking back at Hunk. He sent Hunk a wide smile.“Thanks. It was delicious.” He said, his gaze warm. Hunk felt his crush, which had waned in the horror of Keith’s dietary choices, come back stronger than ever. His heart throbbed in his chest, and Hunk ducked his head.“Y-y-yeah, man. A-anytime.” He sputtered nervously.





	Guys Like Me

**Author's Note:**

> This is a oneshot from an Shance/Heith College AU I've been plotting out over the past few months. My wife loved this when I sent it to her, so I figured I'd let you all see it as well.

Hunk had a crush.

It was stupid and childish and he knew it’d only end in heartbreak, but he had one regardless.

Keith Kogane was the exact opposite of any guy that would ever think to date him. He was the school’s soccer ace,  and easily maintained his 4.0 GPA despite the fact that their college’s soccer team practiced every day, rain or shine. He was short and thin as a rail but wonderfully tone, though he did a good job of masking it with baggy hoodies and raggy jeans. His personality...well, Lance thought he was a jackass and with good reason, but Hunk could tell that Keith was simply someone who enjoyed his privacy. And people who were gorgeous and enjoyed their privacy didn’t date fat nerds that rambled when they were nervous.

Hunk had thought his embarrassment had peaked when Lance had shamefully failed to set Keith and him up on a date. He’d been wrong, _so_ wrong.

Shiro, their TA and Keith’s older brother, had thrown them together in the same group for a project. Hunk was forced to sit down with Keith before class for the next two weeks until their presentation was due and try to act like they both didn’t know that ‘Lance’s friend’ had a crush on Keith and Hunk was the only friend Lance had in this class.

At the very least Keith pulled his own weight in their group, taking whatever tasks Lance threw his way with a raised brow and a nod.

It was their third meeting into their group project, the three of them reviewing the outline Lance had pieced together from their notes. Hunk hadn’t been paying that much attention to Keith, at least not until he noticed Keith pull a handful of Taco Bell Fire sauce packets from his bookbag. He watched from the corner of his eye as Keith casually tore one open and began to suck the contents of the packet into his mouth like some kind of junk food vampire.

Hunk turned to look at him fully, his brain stopping to fully process the situation with dawning horror as Keith finished off one packet, only to open another. Hunk could only watch in a mute mixture of disgust and terror as Keith went through three more packets, before Lance noticed and promptly spoke up.

“Dude, _what the fuck?_ ” Lance asked loudly, clearly disgusted. Keith glanced up from the paper, looking first at Lance, then at Hunk. He pulled the spent packet from between his lips with a soft _pop_.

“What?” Keith asked lowly, looking genuinely confused at the mirrored disgust on both their faces.

“You’re just chugging down Taco Bell sauce packets!” Lance said, pointing at the sizable pile on the desk in front of Keith. Keith shrugged.

“Yeah? I had Taco Bell earlier. And it’s not like they charge you extra for the sauce, it’s practically a free snack.” He said, casually pulling out another handful of packets. Hunk wanted to scream.

Sure, the saying ‘nobody’s perfect’ was completely true, but this was...on the level of finding out that your husband was a serial killer, or that your grandparents were killer clowns. It was terrible and Hunk could only question his own standards as he watched Keith rip open another packet with his teeth and shove said packet between his lips.

“I knew the moment we were assigned as partners in this assignment I was going to hate you even more than I already do.” Lance said darkly, shaking his head. “But I am proud to admit that I also find you completely disgusting as well.” He added, looking to Hunk for support. Naturally, Keith’s gaze fixed on Hunk, and it was all the taller student could do to nod his head in agreement. Keith stared at him, sauce packet tucked between his full lips, before he pulled it out and made an effort to hide his supply of sauce away from the two of them.

“Fine.” He said.

Only it wasn’t fine. Hunk would know that the packets were there and that the guy that he still, for some horrible, horrible reason, had a crush would actually eat them at a later date.

Next class was worse. Keith, clearly attempting to try and make more effort with his snacks, pulled out a box of frozen Eggos and a mini bottle of sriracha. Lance and Hunk could only watch in suspended disbelief as Keith opened the box and proceeded to slather an Eggo (still frozen) in sriracha before eating it casually in front of them. Hunk didn’t think it was possible to cross a line with him, but Keith had found that line and smothered it in unhealthy food condiments.

“Okay,”Lance said as Keith finished up Eggo #1 and promptly grabbed a second one. “I honestly thought you were dicking with us last class, but now I’m genuinely concerned. Have you sought professional help?”

“What? You mean like a therapist?” Keith asked, looking at Lance in annoyance. “Why?”

“I meant a dietitian, but a therapist is a good idea as well.” Lance noted. He paused, shock and horror filling his face. “Wait, wait, does _Shiro_ eat like you do?” He asked, sounding terrified of the thought. Hunk couldn’t blame him. Lance had been crushing on Shiro since Day 1 of class, much like Hunk had with Keith. Finding out your crush ate like the contents of a back alley dumpster of a fast food restaurant was a jarring experience to say the least.

“Nah, Shiro tries to eat healthy. Which, in our case, means those salads you get from drive thrus.” Keith added, shrugging a shoulder. He pulled out a third waffle. Hunk reached out, unable to bear the sight any longer.

“Please, don’t.” He begged, grabbing onto Keith’s wrist before he could cover the poor thing in more hot sauce. Keith looked in him in surprise, and Hunk realized that this was the first time they’d ever made bodily contact. He quickly released Keith’s wrist. “I...it’s not healthy!” He said in a rush, face red. Keith was still staring at him, his expression terrifyingly blank. After a moment he tossed the Eggos and sriracha back into his bag.

“I guess you have a point.” He admitted, and for a second Hunk entertained the possibility that Keith almost sounded...shy? But he didn’t have time to dwell on the thought, not when they had to finish reviewing the outline before class was over. Later at night, when Hunk was cooking dinner, the thought of Keith and his horrifying choices in food came back, as well as the shy look on his face. Hunk bit his lip.

The next day when Keith pulled out his snack (gummy worms wrapped in bologna, the horror) Hunk promptly set a Tupperware container down in front of him. Keith stared at it for a long time, to the point that Hunk almost snatched it back and ran from the room.

“What...is this?” Keith finally asked. Hunk scratched the back of his head nervously.

“Some leftover jambalaya from last night’s dinner.” Hunk answered nervously. “I figured since you typically eat...”

“...like a starving raccoon foraging in the dead of winter for whatever it can inhal-”

“-Lance!” Hunk sent his best friend a scalding look. Lance shrugged, leaning back in his chair with a smirk. Keith paused, examining the container for a moment longer before he cracked the lid, looking mystified as steam wafted out from the container, followed by a heavenly smell that caused several students to look their way hungrily.

“It smells good.” Keith said, as if he was in a trance. Hunk offered him a spoon and Keith pulled the lid off completely. Inside Hunk’s jambalaya sat, a healthy mix of bell and hot peppers, Andouille sausage, rice, tomatoes, shrimp and a hell of a lot of spice. Keith stared down at it, before looking at Hunk. “Is it really okay for me to eat this?”

“Of course. I cook in big batches. I always have extra.” Hunk said with a smile. “If you like it I can bring in some more tomorrow.”

“Hunk’s cooking is top notch. Once we get him to outer space I’m going to have him build a space restaurant.” Lance said, flashing Hunk a grin. “Even aliens will come visit for a chance at eating your food, buddy.” Lance added proudly. Hunk sent him a sheepish grin.

“Yeah, sure. Hopefully the Martians appreciate a home-cooked meal.” Hunk added with a laugh. He looked back over at Keith, and blinked.

The Tupperware was _empty_ , and Keith looked like he was contemplating licking the inside of the container. Instead Keith gnawed at his spoon, looking back at Hunk. He sent Hunk a wide smile.

“Thanks. It was delicious.” He said, his gaze warm. Hunk felt his crush, which had waned in the horror of Keith’s dietary choices, come back stronger than ever. His heart throbbed in his chest, and Hunk ducked his head.

“Y-y-yeah, man. A-anytime.” He sputtered nervously.

The rest of the week went that way. Hunk would bring Keith food and Keith would inhale it happily. In exchange Keith helped Hunk outside of class, mainly by helping to tutor Lance. Keith was really smart, and he managed to talk circles around Hunk, which only made him even more attractive. He wasn’t condescending about it either, going over the material again and again, sending Hunk another beautiful smile when the problems they worked on clicked. Even Lance and Keith stopped bickering (for the most part) as they focused on finishing up their presentation, which was a wonderful relief.

On the day of the presentation, they flew through the assignment flawlessly. The three of them staring at their graded rubric in a moment of blissful silence, reading Professor Coran’s paragraph of compliments. After a moment, Hunk noticed Keith fidgeting nervously next to him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, sending Keith a smile. “We got a perfect score!”

“Yeah, but…” Keith trailed off, sending a quiet look at Lance. Hunk followed his gaze. Lance looked between the two of them, and promptly snatched up the rubric.

“SHIROOOO! I HAVE A QUESTION.” Lance all but screamed, running for Keith’s older brother. Hunk and Keith stared after him for a long moment, before Keith cleared his throat.

“I was just thinking...since we’re not group partners anymore I…” Keith stared at the ground, not meeting Hunk’s gaze. Hunk looked down at him, his heart jumping when he noticed the blush on Keith’s face.

He couldn’t actually…?

No, that was just Hunk’s wishful thinking. Guys that looked like Keith had _zero_ interest in guys that looked like Hunk.

“You’re...gonna miss the food, huh?” He asked. Keith’s gaze snapped to his face, watching him for a long moment before he looked away.

“Yeah…” Keith muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. “The food...your cooking is fantastic, Hunk. You’re fantastic.” He added, his eyes once again going to Hunk’s face, as if trying to gauge his reaction. Hunk tried to not look like his heart was breaking over the fact that Keith only saw him as a free meal.

“Well, you could come over for dinner sometime.” Hunk offered, as if he wasn’t digging himself into a deeper hole. He couldn’t help it. Keith’s smile was addictive, and he seemed to smile whenever Hunk cooked for him.

“Yeah,” Keith answered, his voice soft, “that’d be great. You have my number, just text me whenever, okay?” He said. Hunk nodded, before turning to return to his seat. He didn’t think he could look Keith in the eye any longer.

The best course of action would be to delete Keith’s number and ignore him until his heart stopped aching. A smart person would have done that. Hunk wasn’t smart though, not in the romance department. He was going to probably invite Keith over the second he got home, like some sort of desperate-

“Hunk!” Keith called out. Hunk tensed when he felt a hand grip his arm, tugging him back around. He looked down to see Keith staring up at him.

“Yeah…?” Hunk asked nervously, wondering if Keith had thought better of everything and was going to demand that Hunk delete his number and never speak to him again.

“There’s a drive in movie night at the soccer field this weekend.” Keith said, a soft tremor to his voice. Hunk looked down at him in confusion.

“Yeah?” He said, watching as Keith released his arm to slide his hand down to Hunk’s own. Keith squeezed his hand tightly, and Hunk felt his heart skip a beat.

“And I wanted to go with you.” Keith said nervously.

Hunk’s entire world tilted to the side as he stared down at Keith. Did Keith just ask him out on a date? _Him?_ But...guys that looked like Keith had _zero_ interest in guys that looked like Hunk. Zero interest. It wasn’t possible. Hunk had to ask, even if it meant ruining the unsteady friendship they already had.

“Like...on a date?” He whispered, watching as Keith’s face grew red.

“Yeah,” Keith breathed, “I wanted to take you someplace sooner, but none of the restaurants in town can beat your cooking.” He explained.

Hunk looked around, searching for a sign that this was real life. He saw Lance and Shiro across the classroom, the pair watching them attentively. Shiro sent him a warm smile and Lance flashed him a thumbs up and a wink. He turned his attention back to Keith.

“I...but I didn’t think...it doesn’t make any sense. Guys like you aren’t supposed to be interested in someone like _me_.” He said meekly. Keith looked up at him in confusion.

“What do you mean?” Keith asked.

“You’re gorgeous,” Hunk blurbed, watching as Keith’s face went full crimson, “and a soccer star and popular. You should be dating someone else who’s popular, or attractive, or even Lance-okay not Lance.” Hunk amended quickly at the look of horror that spread across Keith’s face.

“I would rather shatter my own kneecaps than date Lance.” Keith said slowly, shaking his head as if to clear himself of the mental imagine. “He’s stupid and talks too much and he’s not _you_.” Keith added firmly. Hunk let out a rush of air, his voice squeaking. Keith squeezed his hand again. “You’re sweet and kind and gentle, and if I had known anything about you when Lance first chatted me up in your place I would have said ‘yes’ in a heartbeat.”

“I…” Hunk trailed off. Maybe he _was_ dreaming.

“You called me gorgeous. Does that mean that you wanna go out with me?” Keith asked hopefully, staring up at Hunk, his eyes shining. Hunk blushed, nodding his head. Keith smiled radiantly, and Hunk felt his knees go weak. “Want me to pick you up at seven on Saturday then?” Keith asked. Hunk nodded, then reconsidered.

“Come at six, I’ll have dinner ready by then.” Hunk said, managing a smile. Keith nodded, lifting Hunk’s hand to his face. Hunk watched in awe as Keith pressed a kiss to his first knuckle.

“Great.” Keith breathed, his lips brushing against Hunk’s thumb. “I was so nervous to ask, I thought you’d turn me down.”

“What?” Hunk croaked in disbelief. _Him?_ Turn down _Keith_?

“Yeah.” Keith let his hand go, and Hunk resisted the urge to grip Keith’s in return. “I mean, I indirectly called you an idiot the first time Lance talked about you. And I mean, everyone thinks that jocks are assholes. _I_ think I’m an asshole.”

“You’re not an asshole, you’re wonderful.” Hunk said automatically, watching as Keith _blushed_ at _his_ words.

“See? That’s what I’m talking about...I…” Keith trailed off, clearing his throat. “I need to head to my next class, but text me your dorm address and I’ll see you on Saturday? Also, just, text me?” Keith asked. Hunk nodded dumbly. Keith flashed him another smile before he turned to leave the room, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. Hunk watched him go, dazed.

He had a date.

With Keith.

Was this real life?

“Yeah!” Lance crowed, all but jumping onto Hunk’s back as he hugged him tightly from behind. “What’d I say, man? If I hadn’t flirted in your place on Day 1 this never would have happened! Lance the Official Wingman of Garrison University, amiright?"

Hunk laughed, shaking his head.

Yeah, it _was_ real life.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you all were wondering, my end goal with Keith was to make his eating habits resemble a raccoon digging through a trashcan. Basically Hunk had to intervene before Keith's stomach shut down. 
> 
> Leave a comment if you want to see more from this AU!


End file.
